Tis the Season!
by rayann
Summary: Emily shows up for "Pre-Christmas" at Lorelai's. Mainly Luke & Lorelai.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1-Saturday

It was going to be a beautifully sunny winter's day in stars hollow. It was only nine o'clock and already the sound of melting snow dripping off the house could be heard. Lorelai rolled over in bed and reached for Luke. Nothing. She opened her eyes and looked around. Then she remembered that he had gone to work that morning. Pulling her self out from under the warm blankets she pulled on a sweater and headed downstairs to make some coffee. When she got to the kitchen she found that coffee was already made and a little note from Luke that said "See you at breakfast" She poured her coffee and grabbed the paper and sat at the kitchen table to read it. Today was going to be a wonderful day. She hadn't had a whole day off in over two weeks and now she had the next two days off. She didn't even have to go to last night's Friday Night Dinner because her mother had called her and told her that something had come up, and that they wouldn't be home. So she had spent the evening with Luke instead.

After finishing the paper she picked up the phone and called Rory.

"Hello?"

"Hello this is Lorelai…your mother…the person who raised you and fed you…remember?…. I have dark hair, blue eyes….

"Mom, I told you I was coming home this weekend. I just have to get a couple things here sorted out then I'm on my way."

"A likely story. Ooh you do remember that it's the Stars Hollow Pre-Christmas Party tonight, right?"

"Yes I remembered. So why are we having a pre-Christmas party again?" Rory asked.

"Because Taylor thought that Jackson could use the practice." Lorelai explained.

"Poor guy." Said Rory. 'Knock' 'Knock' "Someone's at the door, I'll see you tonight."

"If I'm not home call my cell, I'm going to be doing some running around today." Said Lorelai.

"OK, love you."

"Love you too." Said Lorelai hanging up the phone.

Lorelai's Jeep was acting up again, so she decided to walk to Luke's for breakfast.

X OX XOX XOX XO XOX XO XOX XO OX OX OX XOX XO XOX OX XO XOX OX XO XOX O

Lorelai entered the diner. All the tables were taken so she sat herself on a stool at the counter. Luke came out of the kitchen with a couple plates and smiled when he saw her. "Hey, I'll be right back." He said before taking the plates to the respective customers. On his way back up to the counter he gave Lorelai a quick kiss then asked, "Coffee?"

Lorelai smiled, "Do you have to ask?"

"Well I'm hoping one day you'll surprise me and say, 'No Luke, but do you have any orange juice?"

Lorelai giggled, "You're a dreamer." Luke went behind the counter and poured her a coffee.

Lorelai finished eating her breakfast and waited for Luke to return to the counter. He came back and removed her plate and asked, "So what are you up to today?"

"Well I am going to go home, have a bath, do a little Christmas shopping, a little junk food shopping, and then wait for you to come over so we can go to the Christmas party." She looked at him with puppy dog eyes.

"Lorelai…"

"Come on Luke, you don't have to dress up or anything, this is just like a rehearsal. You just have to come and eat and maybe smile, but I'll do all the socializing for you."

Luke looked at her with exasperation, "Why do you insist on dragging me to all these crazy-town meltdowns, when you know how I feel about them?"

"What can I say, I like to show you off." She flashed him her best smile, and inwardly reveled as she watched him slowly cave.

"Fine, but I'm not helping with the decorations, and I'm not joining in any group Christmas carols, or holding hands and dancing around the tree with anyone." He sighed.

"Not even with me?" she asked teasing him. "Not even one lap? Or what if we don't dance around the tree, like maybe just off to the side and dance in a circle or something?"

Luke put both hands on the counter and stared at her, "You should really quit when you're ahead."

Lorelai smiled and picked up her purse, "See you at five?"

Luke nodded and leaned over and gave her a kiss. "Good-bye crazy lady."

"Bye Luke." And then she left.

X O X O X O XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO XO

The weather was cool but mild as she walked home. She stopped at the post office and sent off her Christmas cards, then stopped at the bakery and bought herself a cinnamon bun. She was humming jingle bells as she entered the house, kicked off her boots and hung up her coat. She decided to microwave her cinnamon bun, but as she headed to kitchen she suddenly noticed someone sitting at her table.

"Oh my God!" she jumped, nearly dropping her cinnamon bun. "Mom?"

"I didn't mean to startle you Lorelai." Said Emily.

"Why are…How did you…What are you doing here?" Lorelai stuttered confused.

"You weren't home so I used the emergency key from outside." Emily explained. "I can't just come visit my only daughter in the holiday season?" she asked innocently.

"I didn't even see your car outside." Lorelai said walking to the cupboard and grabbing a plate for her bun and putting it in the microwave.

"I brought a taxi." Emily said simply.

"Oh, I'd give you a ride home later, but the Jeep is acting up, so until Luke gets a chance to fix it…" Lorelai kind of trailed off as she looked at her mother who was now looking at the floor, and looked as if she might burst into tears. "Mom?"

"Your father has kicked me out." She said lifting her head to try and gauge Lorelai's reaction.

"What? W-Why? What happened?" Lorelai asked sitting down across the table from her mother.

"He found about that date I had with Simon Mclaine." Emily looked back down at her hands, which were folded on her lap. "I tried to tell him that I had made a mistake, that nothing happened, and that it didn't mean anything, but…" Emily looked up at Lorelai. "He was so angry Lorelai. I've never seen him that angry. And hurt."

"Oh mom." Lorelai didn't know what to say. She wasn't used to dealing with her mother when she was like this, all vulnerable and stuff. "Just give him time to cool off, and then talk to him again. I know you can fix this."

"I don't think so Lorelai. We fought all night, which is why your dinner was cancelled, and this morning I woke up and he was waiting downstairs to tell me there was a taxi coming, and that he's send my belongings once I let him know where I was staying."

Lorelai stared at her mother for a moment in shock. She couldn't think of what to say, so she got up grabbed her cinnamon bun and another plate and went back to the table. She ripped the bun in half and put half on a plate for her mother.

Emily looked at her exasperated, "I don't need food Lorelai, I need advice." She pushed the plate back towards Lorelai.

"Well mom, I'm all out of advice right now, so the bun will have to do." She responded pushing the plate back to Emily. They both quietly started picking at their food. Then suddenly a strange panic came over Lorelai as she glanced at her mother. "So why didn't you go back to the hotel?"

"Your father has cut me off from all of our bank accounts. I only have a very limited amount of cash." Emily watched the color drain out of Lorelai's face, and decided that she might as well lay it all out on the table. "Lorelai, I'm going to need to stay here for a while, just until I can figure some things out."

Shoot me.

TBC


	2. Chapter 2

Chpt 2

"I'm sorry mom, but that's not possible." Lorelai said, not wanting to fight, but not wanting her mother to stay even more.

"Lorelai, whether you like it or not, we are family, and family helps each other out." Said Emily in a stern voice.

"Not this one!" Lorelai exclaimed. "There has got to be somewhere else for you to go."

"I can't believe you're not going to let your own mother stay with you! After I lent you money for Rory's school…."

Lorelai held up her hand, "Don't even play that card mom, I've paid you back in full. You can't hold that over my head anymore."

"It would only be for a couple days I'm sure." Continued Emily.

"Just a second ago you said there was no hope of you and dad getting back together! I'm really sorry, but no!" Lorelai was not going to let her mother manipulate her into this one.

"Lorelai!…"

"Mom!…"

They just sat there and stared at each other. Finally Emily stood up and grabbed her purse. "Well, I guess I'll be going then."

Lorelai let out a sigh, why did everything have to be so hard with them? In a calmer voice she said, "You know as well as I do that it just wouldn't work. We're just too….different."

Emily looked down at Lorelai, "I'm sure you're right Lorelai, now do you know the number of any good motels or shelters?" Lorelai rolled her eyes at her mother's guilt attempt.

"Mom, you know I'm right, and you don't have to stay in a shelter."

Emily's eyes almost lit up. Lorelai stood up and put her hands up in front of her. "You're not staying here either!" she quickly added. "I just mean that I'm sure there are nicer places in your new price range."

Emily flopped back down into the chair. "What am I going to do. I've never been…alone before. I'm not the independent type." She had the scared-sad look on again. Lorelai felt a headache coming on.

"Mom, you may not have been independent, but you're stubborn and relentless, and that I'm sure that'll do just fine." Lorelai said while rubbing the tension out of her neck. Emily looked at her confused, not sure if that was an insult or a compliment. Lorelai sat back down again, propped her elbows on the table and placed her face in her hands in an attempt to block out her mother so she could think for a moment. She sat like that for almost a minute. Emily was about to say something to break the silence, when Lorelai dropped her hands and looked across at her mother.

"OK. Here's the deal: I have an extra room at the inn you can stay in for one week. During that time you can either work it out with dad, or you find yourself a job…"

"Emily's eyes widened, "A JOB!?"

Lorelai lifted her hand to silence her, "Or you will find a job and a new place to live."

"…But Lorelai!" Emily looked floored by this decision.

"One week mom, and during that time I don't want you interfering with my life, or my work in any way. If you do, I will personally drop you off at the nearest shelter myself." Lorelai looked at her mother and waited for the reply.

Emily was as white as a ghost. A job? She had never worked a job her entire life. She had honestly expected that Lorelai would have caved in and let her stay there, but she didn't. She wanted to convince Lorelai otherwise, but found for the first time in her life that Lorelai was holding all the cards, and she didn't really have a leg to stand on. She was stuck. In a strange way she actually admired Lorelai for the way she presented her argument. This deal would have to do for now. She would try to view it as a break from all the tension at the house, and all the gossiping and whispers at the club.

"All right Lorelai…I accept."

Lorelai froze for a second thinking, 'why did she accept so fast?' She went over the deal in her head again making sure she hadn't left a big loop hole there somewhere that her mother was going to use against her. Not finding any, she hesitantly said to her mother, "Good... I'll just call Michele then and let him know not to book that room for anyone."

"Fine."

"Fine." Lorelai answered, and went to get the phone.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

It took almost two hours to get Emily all settled in her temporary home. The hardest part was getting her to call Richard to tell him where to send her things. After procrastinating it almost to the point of exhaustion she finally dialed the number and was relieved that Richard's valet answered the phone. She gave him the address and told him only to send her clothes and her toiletries, as she didn't currently have room for anything else at the time. Lorelai had gone to the kitchen during the phone call so as to give her mother some privacy, and had explained the whole story to Sookie.

Sookie was empathetic towards Emily's plight, "She must be a mess right now."

Lorelai raised an eyebrow, "She'll be fine, and don't let her see you pity her, or she'll have you in the palm of her hand."

Sookie rolled her eyes, "I think you're being a little dramatic."

"No I'm not. Ooh and try not to small talk with her about me or Rory or even Luke, because she'll just flip it around somehow to torture me with later." Lorelai was nervous about her mother staying so close to her Stars Hollow life, it had doom written all over it.

Sookie shook her head at her friend's insecurity around her mother, but knew better than to try to talk her over it. "Let's talk about something else."

"Good idea. How's Jackson holding up?"

"Well Taylor offered to write his Christmas speech for him, and to plug the tree in for him, and to oversee the decorating and performance schedule for him." Sookie said while going over to put another pot of coffee on.

"Oh, man. Why doesn't he just tell Taylor to back off?" Lorelai asked.

"Because as much as he hates to admit it, he needs the help." Sookie explained.

Lorelai nodded. "So what time are you going over to the square tonight?" she asked.

"I told the baby-sitter 4:30. So I should be there before 5:00. What about you? Did you have any luck convincing Luke?" Just then Emily peeked her head in the kitchen.

"Lorelai? Are you in here?" she asked.

Lorelai sighed, "Yes mom, come on in."

Emily walked in looking around at the same time. "Very nice. Ooh and that smell…marvelous!"

"Hello Emily." Said Sookie, "I'm finishing up some baking for the party tonight. Gingerbread men, shortbread, mincemeat tarts, nanaimo bars…Ooooh sit! Try one of these!" Sookie said excitedly placing a cookie on a napkin in front of Emily. Emily pulled over a stool to the counter and sat down before trying a bite. "Mmmm. Sugar cookies. I haven't had one of these in years. Very good Sookie."

Lorelai walked over to the coffee machine and poured herself a coffee. "Mom? Sook? Anyone want a coffee?"

Sookie shook her head, "Remember, I'm off coffee for a little while again." She said rubbing her tummy.

"You're pregnant again Sookie? Congratulations." asked Emily. "Lorelai never told me that." She finished, raising her eyebrows at her daughter.

"Well, I just found out myself and I asked Lorelai not to tell anyone, so it's my fault." Sookie said saving Lorelai.

Lorelai appreciated that. "Mom, did you want a coffee?"

"No thank you. I haven't been sleeping much as it is. But I will have another cookie if you don't mind. I haven't eaten much lately either." Emily added sliding her napkin over towards Sookie who was already getting her another one.

"Well why don't you have something a little more filling than a cookie. We have hot soup and sandwiches left from lunch." Said Lorelai. "Besides we can't have you eating all the sugar cookies before tomorrow."

Emily looked at her, "That sounds wonderful." She said sliding her cookie to the side for the moment. "I thought you said the baking was for some party tonight."

Lorelai scooped her mom up a bowl of soup. "Oh, well it is, except for some of the sugar cookies. Rory and I have had a tradition ever since she was little, that every year we decorate sugar cookies and hang them on the tree."

Lorelai set the soup and a sandwich in front of her mom. Emily looked at her, "Is Rory coming into town tomorrow?"

"She's coming in tonight for the party, and staying over." Said Lorelai.

"Is the party here?" asked Emily.

"No." said Sookie, "It's in the Town Square, it's the pre-Christmas, Christmas party. It's like a rehearsal for next week's real Christmas party. My husband is the MC this year."

Emily looked confused, "Why are you having two?"

"My husband needs the practice." Said Sookie.

"Hey, I heard that!" said Jackson walking in the back door carrying Davey. He smiled at his wife and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Smells good in here." He said reaching for a cookie. Sookie swatted his hand with the wooden spoon. "Did you have any lunch yet?"

"Yes I had lunch at Luke's." Jackson looked up at Lorelai. "Oh that reminds me, I need you to ask Luke to repair the railing on the gazebo before tonight."

Sookie looked at Jackson, "Why didn't you ask him when you were there?"

"I did, and he said 'no', so Taylor told me to get Lorelai to ask him." Jackson smiled over at Lorelai, then placed Davey in the high chair that was kept in the kitchen. He turned back to Sookie, "I just changed him and fed him so he's all smiles for you." Then to the baby, "Aren't you, you're all smiles." Then Sookie joined in the baby talk, "Yes you are."

Emily thought they were a very cute family, a little overboard with the baby talk, but nice none the less.

Emily looked at Lorelai, "So why won't your boyfriend help out his friends, Lorelai?"

Sookie jumped in sensing the tension rising, "He will help out, he just says no so that Lorelai can convince him otherwise. It's a routine that has been going on for years." She smiled at Emily. "You should watch them sometimes, just when you think Luke's holding strong, Lorelai says something to him or sometimes even just smiles at him and suddenly Luke drops everything and does whatever she asked."

"It's not like that Sookie!" Lorelai exclaimed, feeling like she had better defend poor Luke.

Sookie turned to look at Lorelai and gave her a soft smile, "That guy is over the moon for you Lorelai. I bet he'd lay down in traffic if you asked."

Emily watched as Lorelai blushed, she couldn't remember ever seeing Lorelai blush. Lorelai noticed her mother staring at her, misreading her mother's thoughts she said, "And no mother I'm not going to test out Sookie's theory."

"That's not was I was thinking." said Emily.

"Oh really?!" said Lorelai, giving her mother that 'yeah right' look.

"I was actually thinking that I might go to this Christmas party tonight, after all, you did say Rory was going to be there, and I never had a chance to see her last night at dinner because of…." Emily paused, "well you know."

Sookie remembered the whole 'situation' Emily was going through, "I think it would be a nice way to get your mind off everything for a while." She said patting Emily's hand.

Lorelai flinched, ready for the glare from her mother because she had told Sookie about her mother's personal affairs. But it never came. Instead Emily agreed. She got up thanked them for the soup and said she was going upstairs to have a rest before they went out. Lorelai was shocked, after watching her mother leave the room she turned back towards Sookie and Jackson, "It started out as such a beautiful day?!"

Sookie giggled at Lorelai's expression, "You'll be fine. At least Rory will be there as a buffer."

Lorelai hung her head. Jackson cleared his throat, "So about the gazebo…?"

Lorelai lifted her head, "Don't worry about it, I'll just make sure he agrees before I tell him we're taking my mother with us tonight."

TBC


	3. Chapter 3

Chpt 3

Emily awoke and went downstairs. Michele stopped her at the bottom of the stairs and gave her the note Lorelai had left.

"Oh, merci Michelle." Emily said. "Are you going to this party tonight?"

"Do not be ridiculous." Michele answered wrinkling up his nose. "This whole town is crazy." He added before returning to his work.

Emily took a seat in the lobby and opened the note. 'Didn't want to wake you. I'll be at the house until 5:00. Rory will pick you up around 4:30. Lorelai'

Emily looked at her watch, it was 4:17. She went upstairs to grab her jacket. She wished she had a warmer jacket, but her clothes hadn't arrived yet. She wondered what Richard would think when he found out where she was. Then she told herself that tonight she wasn't going to think about him at all. Tomorrow was another day and she would think about it then. She looked around the small room and sighed, 'how did her life get to here?' She sighed and turned the lights off and went back down to wait for Rory.

Rory was downstairs when Emily got there. "Rory." Emily smiled.

"Hey grandma." Rory said giving Emily a hug. "I'm so sorry about grandpa. What happened? Can I help?"

Emily put her hand on Rory's arm. "Let's not worry about this now. Nothing can be fixed tonight anyway. So let's just go enjoy ourselves, shall we?" she said walking outside.

"OK grandma." They walked towards Rory's car and Rory noticed Emily shivering a little. "You should've put on a warmer coat. You're going to freeze." She said as they were getting into the car. Emily got in and closed the door, "It's the only one I have with me right now."

Rory hated that her grandparents were fighting and wanted to fix it, but could sense that tonight was not the night to try. Instead she decided that she would do her best to make this a happy night for her grandmother.

"We have some extra coats at the house, we'll pick one up when we pick up mom."

Emily nodded, and they drove into town.

Lorelai heard the car pull up from in the kitchen. She hollered up to Luke who was getting changed upstairs, "They're here hon!"

She heard Luke come down the stairs and head over to the door to open it. She loved having him stay here. The more time they spent together, the less they spent at Luke's apartment. It was like he was slowly moving in, and she didn't mind at all.

Rory walked up the steps to the front door, carrying bags of Christmas presents. She was surprised when Luke opened the door. "Oh, hi Luke!" she said giving him a warm smile.

"Hey Rory, here let me get those for you," he said taking the bags from her, "Your mom is in the kitchen baking her clothes again." Rory giggled and Luke shook his head. He looked out and saw Emily grabbing something out of Rory's trunk, and called out, "Just leave those Mrs. Gilmore, I'll get them." Emily looked up and saw Luke standing at the door. She nodded and put the heavy bags back down, and headed to the house. Luke dropped off the first set of bags and went out to grab the others.

As they approached each other Luke said to Emily, "The girls are in the kitchen, and there's tea on the stove."

"Oh, thank-you. Be careful Luke, those bags in the back are quite heavy." She said as he opened the trunk.

"Yeah, it's probably her laundry. She always brings it home on the weekends." He said picking up the two bags with ease. Emily was amazed at how easy he made that look. She headed into the house to warm up before they went out again. She held the door open for Luke, then followed him into the kitchen, and took a seat at the table with Rory and Lorelai. Luke walked through the kitchen and into the laundry room on the porch. "How can you wear so many clothes in just a week?" He called out to Rory from the other room.

Rory smiled at Luke as he came back into the kitchen, "It's not my fault, it's the weather. It's all about layers."

Luke shook his head, "You're as bad as your mother." He walked over to the cupboard and brought out two mugs. "Did you want a cup of tea Mrs. Gilmore?"

"That sounds wonderful Luke, and I told you to call me Emily." She said while taking off her coat.

Luke walked over to the stove and picked up the teapot that he had warming on the back. "Can I turn off the oven now, or do you have something else to toast?" he asked Lorelai.

"Don't turn it off yet hon, Rory's got her mitts in there." Lorelai said while pulling on her socks.

The trouble with Lorelai was that Luke could never tell if she was kidding or not. He opened the oven and sure enough there were Rory's mitts. He pulled them out and set them in front of Rory. He gave her a funny look then walked back over to the stove.

"Why is the laundry in the stove?" asked Emily.

"It makes it nice and warm, and kind of crunchy." Explained Rory. "That reminds me, mom, grandma needs a warmer coat if she's coming with us, and mitts and a hat too."

"I put the extra stuff in your closet, I'll get it." Lorelai said getting up.

As soon as Lorelai went into Rory's room, Luke sat down in Lorelai's chair. "How's your tea Mrs….Emily?"

"I will admit I was a little hesitant about drinking tea from a mug, but it's actually very nice." She said.

"I put a little peppermint in it." Luke said. He still was uncomfortable making conversation with Emily so he turned to Rory. "Remember that I'm doing your oil change tomorrow." He said to Rory.

"I'll just leave the keys here for you Luke." Rory said pulling the keys out of her pocket. "You know you don't have to do that."

"Well there's no point in you paying someone to do something I could do for free." He said. Lorelai came out of Rory's room with a coat and mitts for her mom. "I tried to find you a hat, but nothing I have would really suit you."

"That's fine Lorelai, thank you." Emily wasn't used to feeling like a charity case. She watched as Lorelai walked over and sat on Luke's lap, and noticed how Luke didn't even flinch or pause in his conversation with Rory. He just wrapped his arm around her like it was normal. Lorelai looked at Rory and jumped in their conversation. "While Luke's changing your oil we can decorate the cookies."

Luke looked at Lorelai, "Are you going to bake cookies tomorrow? Because if you are I'll bring over my spare fire extinguisher." Lorelai pretended to look hurt and then playfully elbowed Luke in the ribs.

"Actually Sookie bakes the cookies, we just decorate them." Lorelai said.

"I'm glad to hear that. Even if you didn't burn them, they would probably taste like socks." Luke said squeezing Lorelai's ribs, making her laugh.

Rory loved seeing her mother this happy, and she had never seen Luke like this either and it was very nice. She was initially nervous that it would seem awkward, but it never did. He just fit. Chris always came with tension, Max was close but not quite a fit, but Luke…it just worked.

Emily wanted to say something to Lorelai about how improper it was that she was sitting on Luke's lap, but being exhausted from her own problems and not wanting to start the evening off on the wrong foot, she decided to remain silent this time.

"What time are we going over?" asked Rory once Lorelai stopped giggling.

"In about an hour or so. They're still just setting up right now. Light up isn't until 7:00, and then the real party starts." She said excitedly looking at her mother.

"What exactly do you do at this thing? And is the whole thing outside?" she asked not sure if she should regret her decision to go along.

"Most of it is outside, but Miss Patty's dance hall will be open, and you can sit inside and have coffee and play cards, or scrabble, or crokinole, and gossip about everyone." Explained Lorelai. "Don't worry mom, you'll have a good time."

They sat around and talked for a bit before Luke motioned Lorelai to get up, "I better get going," he said standing up, "I'll see you guys later, though."

Emily looked at Luke, "Are you not coming to this thing?" she asked.

"I'll be there, but I said I'd help them fix the gazebo before it starts." He explained, then gave Lorelai a quick kiss and headed out.

Emily smiled at Lorelai. Lorelai looked at her mother, "What?"

"Nothing." Said Emily.


	4. Chapter 4

Chpt 4

The Gilmore girls arrived at the square just before six. They walked over so that they could better appreciate the decorations that the town had put up. Every storefront had Christmas lights, every lamppost had a star or snowflake and every tree was covered with lights. It was beautiful. Rory pointed at Luke's Diner, "Luke has Christmas lights on his restaurant!"

Lorelai smiled, "I had to promise to eat all my vegetables for two whole days," she said to Rory, "but it was worth it. He even decorated a little Christmas tree in his apartment for me."

Emily looked concerned, "Does Luke not like the holiday season?"

Lorelai looked at her mother, "His father died a few years ago, less than a month before Christmas, and they were really close." Lorelai gave her mom a sad smile and added, "But he's coming around."

Rory added, "And it's also because Luke and Taylor are like oil and water, and Taylor likes decorations. So therefore Luke doesn't." Rory looked excitedly at her mother, "Ooh, I hope they get in another fight again this year. They're fun!"

Lorelai pointed over towards the gazebo where Luke was standing, "It looks like we're missing it, come on!" Lorelai said pulling Rory along with her. Emily called out to Lorelai, "I'm not running anywhere!"

Lorelai looked back over her shoulder, "Just meet us there then."

As Rory and Lorelai approached they could see Luke making wild arm gestures and leaning closer and closer to Taylor's face. All Lorelai could hear was Luke mumble something about 'pushing your luck' before Luke saw them approach. He turned his back on Taylor in an effort to compose himself. He didn't know what it was about Taylor, but he just knew how to push Luke's buttons. Luke turned around with a forced smile and greeted the girls. Lorelai looked amused, "Hey, Hon. Are you boys behaving?"

Taylor spoke up, "I can't get Luke to help put the lights up on the gazebo, and the show is going to start in less that an hour. And this is the stage!"

Luke started to get worked up again, "That wasn't part of the deal Taylor. I was asked to fix it, and I fixed it. End of story."

Taylor looked at Lorelai, "I just assumed that when I was told that Luke was taking care of the gazebo, that it meant he was _taking care of the gazebo_."

Luke stepped closer to Taylor, "You assumed wrong!"

Emily had finally caught up to the crowd and stood beside Rory and whispered, "What's going on?"

Rory smiled at her grandmother, "Taylor wants Luke to hang lights on the gazebo, and Luke naturally doesn't want to."

"Why don't they get someone else to do it then?" Emily then recalled the conversation Sookie had with her at the inn, "Or is this one of those times when Luke says no just so that your mother can convince him otherwise?"

Rory looked at her grandmother and laughed, "I never thought about it like that before, but I think you might be on to something." They both turned back to watch.

Lorelai put her hand on Luke's arm to calm him down, then turned towards Taylor, "How many lights are we talking here, Taylor?" Everyone watched as Taylor explained in detail how he wanted the lights put up. Lorelai turned around to face Luke, who was already shaking his head at her, "No Lorelai!"

"Come on Luke, this would be easy for you. What if they end up having to call Kirk over because you refused? You know he'll just end up hurting himself. Do you really want that on your conscience over the holidays?"

Luke crossed his arms and planted his feet. He was not going to let her make him change his mind. "I said no Lorelai, and I meant it."

Over on the sidelines Emily whispered to Rory, "I guess Lorelai can't win them all." Rory smiled and whispered back, "It's not over yet, just watch."

Lorelai turned back to Taylor, "I'm sorry Taylor, I tried. Just please don't tell me it was going to be the dancing angels."

Luke looked confused and hesitantly asked, "What dancing angels?"

Lorelai turned back to Luke with an extremely sad face and said, "The pre-school class' dancing angels ballet routine. They were scheduled to go first. They've been working on it for weeks. I know because I made all the costumes, remember? I stayed up for almost two weeks making those costumes."

Rory smiled, "He's a goner." Emily gave her a funny look then turned back again.

Lorelai knew she had him, but she decided to carry on anyway, "You know Rory used to be a dancing angel. It was so important to her that she wore her costume every day for two whole weeks. A childs' first public performance should be perfect and special, so if you're heart is not in it Luke then I agree that you should let someone else do it. Like Kirk."

Luke didn't say anything for a second, then he let out a sigh, "I'll do it." He was always amazed when those words came out of his mouth. He was starting to wonder if Lorelai was part witch. Taylor handed Luke the box of lights and went to find Jackson. Luke intended to glare at Lorelai when he turned to face her, but she was wearing the most beautiful smile. He couldn't help but smile back. "Oh yeah. Keep smiling," he said coming over and tugging on her jacket until she leaned in to the kiss, "You and little angel dancer here," he said motioning Rory, "are my new helpers."

Lorelai smiled and turned in his arms so that her back was against his chest and said to Rory, "You don't have to help sweetie. Why don't you take your grandmother and go find out where they're setting up the food."

Rory agreed and they headed off to find the food. Once out of earshot Emily said to Rory, "That poor guy, he never stood a chance." Rory laughed. "Only mom can talk to Luke like that." Emily noticed Rory's face turn a little serious for a minute.

"What is it Rory?"

Rory hesitated not knowing how to say what she wanted to say, "Grandma…. I know you want what's best for mom and me…."

"Of course I do." Said Emily wondering where this was going.

"Well, I know it might not seem like it to you, but that's Luke." Rory always hated confronting her grandmother about anything, but this was something really important. "He will probably never be rich, or spend his free time at the club, or drink fancy drinks. But he fits with us, and he's always been there. In some ways Luke has been more of a father to me than my real dad…"

"Rory!" Emily exclaimed.

"It's true grandma. And he loves mom so much. I've never seen her this happy. I just…" Rory looked down at her feet, "…I just want this to work for them. Whether you know it or not, having you like Luke is very important to mom. And to me. I think he may be 'the one' for mom, and I think if you watched them you'd see that too."

Emily didn't know what to say. She knew that her daughter liked the diner man. But was she in love with him? And if she was, Emily knew that she would have to be the one to change, or she would risk losing her girls again. She never really had anything against Luke, she had just always had this picture in her head of Lorelai living in a giant house, married to a successful businessman, and attending DAR meeting with her.

Emily looked back over her shoulder and watched as Luke threw snowballs at Lorelai from the roof of the gazebo, and smiled as Lorelai bested him by removing the ladder. Emily realized that she had to give up her fantasy of Lorelai, because this is where she belonged. The realization made Emily sad and happy at the same time. Emily turned back to Rory, "I do see it Rory." She said. Snapping out of her reverie she linked her arm in Rory's, "Let's go find some coffee, shall we." She smiled. Rory agreed and they headed off towards Miss Patty's.


	5. Chapter 5

Chpt 5

Rory and Emily went into Miss Patty's and checked out all the neat stuff. There were tables set up along the one wall with a wide variety of items for sale. There was baking, jams and jellies, quilts, knitted clothing, among many other things. There were small tables set up in the middle where a variety of card games and board games had already begun, and at the far end was an empty space for people to dance after the light up. At the very front was a table that was giving out free coffee and hot apple cider. Rory grabbed a coffee and Emily grabbed a cider and Rory took her grandmother around and introduced her to everyone. Liz was there with her jewelry and waved them over.

"You must be Rory. I'm Liz, you know mother of Jess, sister of Luke." She said coming around and giving Rory a hug. "I recognized you from the picture Luke showed me."

"Nice to meet you." Rory said, "My mom said your wedding was really nice." Rory introduced Liz to Emily, "This is my grandmother Emily Gilmore. She came to check out the party."

"Oh, so you're Lorelai's mom! I just love that daughter of yours. She's the best thing that's ever happened to that brother of mine." Liz leaned in and motioned Rory to do the same, then whispered, "He admitted to me the other day that he was in love with her."

"Really!?" asked Rory surprised, "That big softy." Emily had now also leaned in, suddenly very interested in this story.

"I know, right. So I asked him how it went when he told her, and he told me he hadn't told her yet." Liz finished excitedly, and then looking around to make sure no one had overheard. Certain that no one was listening she continued, "So I asked him why. He said that it wasn't that easy with Lorelai and just to drop it. Then he changed the subject." Liz looked at Rory, "What do you think that means?"

Rory knew what he was talking about and straightened back up. Emily noticed Rory's expression change from happy to sad and then saw her put on a fake smile before answering, "I have no idea. But I'm sure they'll be fine."

A customer asked Liz a question and Liz excused herself and Rory and Emily quietly wandered over to a couple empty chairs and sat down. Emily looked at Rory, "So what did Luke mean Rory? And don't say you don't know, because I know you do." Rory debated whether or not to say anything, but figured that her grandmother wouldn't give up otherwise. And another part of her just liked to include her grandmother in their lives, despite what her mother thought. "Mom has never said 'I love you' to anyone but me." Rory began.

"That can't be true, she was engaged after all." Said Emily.

Rory looked at her grandmother and shook her head. Emily didn't know what to say, she had never heard of such a thing, "What's wrong with her?"

"Nothing's wrong with her grandma. It's just that she kind of put up a wall to protect herself, you know?" Rory struggled to explain, and Emily just sat there trying to understand.

Just then Lane came running in, "Rory!" she shouted running over and giving Rory a big hug, "We've got a real gig!" Then she noticed Emily sitting there and in a calmer voice said, "Hello Mrs. Gilmore."

"Hello Lane. How have you been doing?" Emily asked, trying to focus back on the present.

"Very well thank-you." She replied politely, then turned back to Rory. "You have to check out our poster. It's awesome! And help me pick out what I'm going to wear, and what to do with my hair…"she continued excitedly.

"When is it?" asked Rory.

"Two weeks, New Year's Eve."

"Two weeks?" repeated Rory unsure of why there was such a big rush.

"I know. It doesn't leave much time. That's why I need your help." Said Lane seriously.

Emily looked at Rory and smiled, "Go on with your friend Rory, I'm going to take another look around here anyway."

"Are you sure?" Asked Rory not wanting to leave her grandma alone.

Emily smiled at Rory's concern, "Yes, please, go help poor Lane. Have a good time."

Rory kissed her grandma on the cheek, "Thank you grandma. I'll meet you back here at ten to seven so we can watch the light up together." Emily nodded and watched as the two girls left, chattering excitedly the whole time.

Emily slowly walked over to the door and looked out over the crowd that was beginning to gather outside. She spotted Lorelai talking to Sookie and felt sad as she thought about what Rory had told her.

Meanwhile Lorelai was having a great time. They had got the lights up in record time despite their goofing around, and now she was talking to Sookie.

"Where did Luke go?" Sookie asked.

"He just ran back to the diner to grab a warmer sweater." Lorelai explained. "Where's your man?"

"Well my little man is right here," she said indicating Davey in the stroller, "but I have no idea where my big man is." She finished scanning the crowd for Jackson. "I have his gloves in the diaper bag and I wanted to give them to him." Sookie caught a glimpse of Jackson across the square, "Ohh there he is!" she tried to weave the stroller through the crowd, but didn't get very far. Lorelai stopped her, "Just leave little Davey here with me ad go before you lose him again." Sookie thanked her, grabbed the gloves, and made her way through the people, shouting for Jackson the whole way. Lorelai looked down at Davey, "Your mom is nuts." She said smiling and bending down to pick him up. "I bet you can't see much from down there." She lifted Davey up and propped him on her hip, "There you go."

Luke watched Lorelai with Davey and smiled. She was trying to get him to look at something but he was too busy grabbing at her necklace. She flashed Luke a smile when she saw him approach and he smiled right back. He still got butterflies every time she smiled at him. He thought they would have gone away after they started dating but instead they had gotten worse. But he didn't mind, in fact he decided that he'd dislike it even more if they went away. "Did you find a sweater?" Lorelai asked. "What are you smiling at?" she asked noticing Luke's big grin.

"You." Luke said giving Lorelai a soft kiss then whispering, "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen. And you're with me. So I smile."

Lorelai blushed, she couldn't get enough of this side of Luke. Her side. To everyone else he was still grumpy, stubborn old Luke. But with her he was different. He could still be grumpy and stubborn, mind you, but she wouldn't want him any other way. She leaned up and gave him a soft slow kiss. They just stared at each other for a moment and enjoyed the butterflies. Davey started wiggling and Lorelai shifted her focus back to him. "He seems to like the necklace I got you." Luke said.

"Well he's got good taste." Smiled Lorelai.

Sookie joined back up with them, and was reaching to take Davey back from Lorelai. When Lorelai's face suddenly paled. "What is it?" asked Sookie concerned. Luke not understanding looked at Lorelai, "Hon?" he asked, placing his hand at the small of her back.

Lorelai put a hand on her chest, and continued to stare across the crowd, "My dad's here."


	6. Chapter 6

_I'd like to thank everyone for all the reviews. They are appreciated._

Chpt 6

"Where's my mother?" Lorelai asked scanning the area.

"I think I saw her go into Miss Patty's with Rory earlier." Said Sookie.

Lorelai didn't know what to do. She looked at Luke, "I have to at least give my mother a heads up. Could you stall my dad for me?" She pleaded.

"How?" asked Luke, not comfortable with spending much time alone with Lorelai's father.

"Um, tell him the truth. Take him to the diner and tell him I went to find mom. That way if there is a big fight, not everyone will see it." Luke nodded.

"Is there anything I can do?" asked Sookie.

"I don't think so, and I wouldn't worry about saving a spot for me at light up, I don't think I'll make it." She said before heading toward Miss Patty's.

Luke walked over to Richard. "Mr. Gilmore?"

Richard turned and smiled politely, "Ah, Luke," he said holding out his hand in greeting, "Have you seen Emily around here?" Luke shook his hand and answered, "Lorelai's gone to find her, she said to wait for them at the diner." Luke motioned towards it, "I could get you something while you wait."

Richard nodded, "That sounds fine, Luke, thank-you." And he followed Luke into the dark diner. Luke turned on a couple lights and offered Richard a seat at the counter. "Coffee?" he asked Richard.

Richard raised a hand, "Oh don't go to any trouble. They shouldn't be long."

"Oh it's no trouble, I always have a pot ready." Said Luke grabbing a mug and turning around to fill it.

"Even when you're closed?" asked Richard confused.

Luke set the coffee in front of Richard then shrugged, "Lorelai."

Richard understood immediately, "Ah yes. Wise man." Richard took his gloves off and set them on the counter. "So how are you two doing anyway?"

'_What the hell is taking Lorelai so long?'_ Luke wondered. "Good, good. How about you?" Luke immediately knew that was a stupid question. "I-I didn't mean..." Luke stuttered trying to apologize.

"It's ok Luke." Richard said, "I guess you went through this with your ex-wife."

Luke looked down at the counter. "It's not fun."

"Definitely not." Agreed Richard. "But did your wife go out for dinner with another man?" he asked thinking he would be shocking Luke.

Luke shifted uncomfortably, "No, actually I caught my wife sleeping with another man at our new house."

It was Richard who was shocked, "Really?! I'm sorry to hear that Luke."

"It was horrible at the time, but our relationship was doomed from the start anyway." Luke said.

"How so?" asked Richard.

Luke paused for a moment, "Well…She wasn't Lorelai."

"Oh." Said Richard, he wasn't sure what to say. "Then why did you marry someone else?"

Luke really hated this conversation and he looked out the window to see if he could see Lorelai coming. "I don't know. I guess I figured it would force me to move on."

"Why didn't you just tell Lorelai how you felt?"

Luke shook his head, "I couldn't."

"And why is that?" Richard asked.

Luke searched for the right words, "I guess I was afraid that I risked the chance of losing my best friend."

"So then what made you change your mind?" Richard asked.

"I decided that the only thing worse than telling her, was seeing her every day and not telling her." Luke shifted again and cleared his throat. "Can we change the subject…I'm not real good at this."

Richard smiled, "Oh, I think you were doing just fine."

Luke let out a short laugh. They remained silent for a few minutes before Richard asked, "So how did you tell her?"

"Excuse me?" asked Luke.

"Did you take her to a special place, play a special song…" Richard saw Luke's confused look. "How did you tell her you loved her?"

Luke picked up the cloth from the cupboard and started to wipe down the counter tops. Hoping that if he ignored the question it would go away.

Richard got the hint. He didn't say anything for a second, then sighed and said, "I told Emily in Paris."

Luke looked at Richard, but Richard didn't notice, he was lost in his own thoughts.

X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X X

Meanwhile…

Lorelai found her mother at Miss Patty's "Mom!"

"Hello Lorelai. Did you see these quilts? They are magnificent." Emily said running her hand over one of the quilts.

"Yes mom, I know. I bought Rory one for Christmas." She said pulling her mother over to the side.

"What are you doing, Lorelai?" asked Emily annoyed at being pulled around.

Once out of earshot Lorelai turned her mother and told her, "Dad's here."

"Are you joking?" asked Emily looking around the room quickly.

"Yeah mom, I thought it would be really funny to come in here and tell you that." Said Lorelai.

"Well, sometimes with you I need to ask." Defended Emily. "Where is he?"

"Luke took him to the diner so you could have somewhere private to talk."

Emily looked sad, "He doesn't want to talk to me. He's probably just dropping off my clothes."

Lorelai sighed, "If he just wanted to drop off your clothes, he probably wouldn't have come himself. He would've sent Jeeves."

"Who is Jeeves?" Emily asked confused.

"Dad's valet."

"His name is Jeeves?"

"Mom, is now really the time to start wondering about the names of your staff?" Lorelai asked.

Emily walked over to one of the empty chairs and sat down. Lorelai was bewildered, "What are you doing? Dad's waiting."

"He can wait five minutes I'm sure." Emily said, "I just need a moment."

Lorelai let out a sigh and sat down beside her mother. They sat there silent for a moment until Emily said, "I hate this."

Lorelai looked down at her feet, "I know."

They fell silent again. Lorelai hesitantly broke the silence, "We should really go mom. Dad's probably talking Luke into franchising again."

"You love him don't you?" Emily asked Lorelai.

"Who? Dad? Yeah he's swell." Lorelai said avoiding the question.

"No, I mean Luke." Said Emily exasperated.

"Quit stalling mom, let's go." Lorelai said standing up.

"I think you are, and I think he loves you." Emily said not getting up.

Lorelai fidgeted, "What mom? Are you now going to tell me that I could do better? That I shouldn't be with a lowly diner owner?" she said getting defensive.

"No Lorelai. In fact I wanted to tell you that I'm sorry about how I treated him before. I wanted you to know that I approve."

"Well, as long as you approve?!" Lorelai said now completely frustrated.

"So have you told him?" Emily persisted.

"Told him what?"

"That you're in love with him."

Lorelai crossed her arms, "Maawwwm."

"I'm not going anywhere until you answer me." Emily said. She could be just as stubborn as Lorelai.

Lorelai fidgeted again. "He makes me happy. Can we go now?"

"Lorelai, puppies make you happy, balloons make you happy, coffee makes you happy, but are you in love with him?" Emily pushed.

"What do you care?" Lorelai asked starting to feel pressured.

"I care because I want what's best for you. I care because I'm concerned that you're too afraid to tell someone you love them. I care because I don't want you to miss your big chance to live happily ever after." Said Emily, hoping that she was getting through.

"What, like you and dad?" Lorelai snapped back. She watched as her mother's face dropped and instantly regretted what she said. "I didn't mean that mom, It's just that….everything is perfect right now. I'm happy, Luke's happy, so why change that?"

"I guess you're right Lorelai." Emily stood up, "Let's go." She walked past Lorelai and headed out the door towards the diner. Lorelai sighed _'just another relaxing night with my parents'_ then turned to follow Emily.


	7. Chapter 7

Sorry about the delay, but life happens sometimes at the most inappropriate times

Chapter 7

Lorelai and Emily headed to the diner in complete silence. Emily was bracing herself for her confrontation with Richard. Lorelai was stewing over her mother's words, she wasn't afraid to say the L word, she wasn't afraid to tell Luke anything. But why mess up the good thing they had going right now? Why did she have to throw the L word at him, when she knew it would only cause a big awkward moment? Why did she keep referring to it as the L word? Before they knew it they were at the diner.

Luke looked up when he heard the door open and welcomed the wave of relief he felt. Luke and Richard had been sitting in silence for the last ten minutes, and that was almost more disturbing than actually talking to each other. The silence continued though, only now there were four people instead of two. Luke watched as Emily and Richard just stared at each other. The tension was getting thick. He looked to Lorelai, who usually had something to say, and noticed that she looked distracted or a little upset. Finally Luke cleared his throat and rounded the counter to stand next to Lorelai. He looked back at Lorelai's parents, "We'll just be outside if you need us," he grabbed Lorelai's hand and started leading her out the door, "Take your time." With that he made his escape.

As soon as the door closed Emily lifted her chin, "What are you doing here Richard?"

Richard replied, "I came to drop off the things that you asked for."

"You could have just sent them over you know. You didn't have to trouble yourself." She said trying to sound indifferent about the whole situation. "Anyway, you could have just left them at the inn."

"Well when I got to the inn and said that I was looking for you, Michel told me that you were here. I figured that it would be rude to just dump off your things and leave, so I thought I'd let you know that it was here." Richard said trying to sound professional.

Emily looked at him bewildered, "You figured that would be rude?" she let out a forced laugh. "You wake me up, tell me it's over, throw me out like the trash….but you figured THAT was rude?" Emily was getting very angry now, "Really Richard, sometimes I just don't understand how your mind works."

"You don't understand how MY mind works!" now Richard was getting upset too, "You tell me that we should separate, you move me to the pool house, and then you go out with one of my business associates!"

Emily put her hands on her hips, "You have been going out for dinner with Penalyn Lott for years!"

The arguing continued to get louder and louder. Lorelai and Luke even decided to move across the street and out of earshot. They stopped and sat on the bench. Lorelai still hadn't said anything since she arrived at the diner and Luke was getting concerned, "Are you all right?"

Lorelai turned toward Luke but didn't make eye contact, "Yeah, I'm fine." She then turned and tried to feign interest in the surrounding festivities. Luke figured she was upset about her parents and decided to give her a moment, so he also sat there and pretended to be interested in the surroundings.

Meanwhile, the arguing back at the diner had reached new levels. They just continued yelling over top of each other until there was nothing left to yell. Then all there was left was a deafening quiet and a lot of tension. They both just stood there and tried to catch their breath. Richard expected Emily to walk out and slam the door, and was totally surprised when she walked over and took a seat at one of the tables. After a few more long moments of silence Emily slowly and calmly said, "The dinner meant nothing. I need you to understand that." Then she stared back at Richard.

Richard also exhausted from the previous exchange, sat down on a chair beside her. "Then I need you to understand that my lunches with Penalyn Lott were innocent as well." Emily just sat and stared at her hands, which were folded on her lap. Richard slowly leaned closer and put his hand on top of Emily's. Emily's head snapped up surprised. Richard gave her hand a squeeze, "Emily….Let's go home."

Emily wasn't sure what to do, she was still upset about many things. But she missed the way Richard was looking at her. She missed talking to him, eating dinner with him, even arguing with him. She sighed and looked at Richard, "Let's go home." She agreed.

LLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL

Lorelai had been silent for so long that Luke felt he had to say something, "Well the gazebo sure looks nice from here, huh?" Still nothing. "Should we go see if we can find Rory and Sookie?"

Suddenly Lorelai turned towards Luke, "I'm not afraid of you!" she said.

Luke was confused, "Uh…..OK." '_What the hell is she talking about now.' _"Did I do something…….?"

Lorelai reached out and grabbed his sleeve, "No….I mean….ugh!" she was getting flustered trying to find the right words. She took a deep breath, "Luke. You and me and this thing we're doing, it's good, right?"

Luke still unsure of where this was going cautiously answered, "Very good."

Lorelai fidgeted, "Good." She paused looking for the right words, "And you know that I think it's good. I mean, we eat together, we sleep together, we talk about everything, we have fun…" She noticed the confused look on Luke's face, "You know that you're my best friend, right?"

Luke smiled, he was unsure of where this was going, but that just sounded so cute. "Yes, and you're my best friend."

Lorelai kept stumbling through, "It's just….everything seems perfect right now…it feels perfect. I just don't want to say 'anything' that might ruin it. Do you understand?" Just then Taylor and Jackson stepped up to the microphone and started their speech, drowning out the end of Lorelai's sentence.

Luke winced as feedback from the mike rippled through the square, "Do I what?"

"Do you understand what I'm saying?" Lorelai shouted back, because now the band was playing as the countdown to the tree light up started.

Luke shook his head and smirked, "Not usually!"

Lorelai anxiously tucked her hair behind her ears, "I've never been good at talking about…" between the music getting louder, and Lorelai not being able to find the words, she tried to end the painful conversation. "I just wanted you to know that you're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Luke. That's all." Then she exhaled. She was disappointed that she couldn't find the words. She gave Luke a small smile and turned to watch as the countdown continued.

Richard and Emily emerged from the diner exchanging shy smiles and headed towards the car. Emily noticed Luke and Lorelai across the street and turned to Richard, "I'll be right back, I just want to tell Lorelai that I won't be staying." Richard nodded and Emily headed across the street.

Luke stared at Lorelai's profile for a second and then smiled. He stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her stomach. He liked the way she fit him. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I love you Lorelai, I always have." He felt Lorelai tense up, "If that's what you're afraid of saying, don't worry, I already know."

The music stopped as Jackson walked over to plug in the tree. Lorelai turned around and looked at Luke. He was looking back at her with sweetest look on his face. She knew that if she said nothing, things would still be the same between them, because he was Luke and he was the only one who ever truly understood her. "I love you." she said. The tree lit up and the crowd gasped in delight. When the words came out, it took her a second to realize that she actually said them out loud. She was also surprised that no lightning bolt had come from the sky and struck her dead, and even more surprising was the fact that she actually felt happier, and she couldn't help but smile.

Emily heard it. She was just crossing the street when the music stopped and clear as a bell she heard it. Emily watched as her daughter and the diner man kissed each other, and smiled at each other like lovesick teenagers. She stopped and sighed. She hadn't pictured Luke as the future for her daughter. She must be getting soft she realized as she took in the picture before her. Luke and Lorelai happily wrapped up in each other, while little children dressed up as angels dance to Christmas carols in the background beside a giant beautifully decorated Christmas tree. Although not Emily's caliber of party, she found comfort in the quaintness.

Richard was waiting at the car and saw Emily stop and turn around. When she got back to the car he asked, "Weren't you going to talk to Lorelai?" Emily looked back over her shoulder at her daughter, "I'll just leave her a note at the inn." Richard shrugged confused, but not about to ask. Then they got in the car and left.

THE END


	8. Chapter 8

I am just writing to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! And I wish you the best in the New Year! Rayann


End file.
